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The name 'House Price Crash' gives it away. The site was set up in 2003 by "a small group of individuals who were extremely interested in the house price crash subject" but claimed they couldn't find a site devoted to the subject.

Predicting a "boom bust event" the site provided like-minded individuals discussions in which they could have their say about - at the time - runaway house price growth in the UK. The forums went from strength to strength and apparently now have more than 50,000 hits a day.

In April 2006 the site was acquired by Fubra Limited, a Hampshire-based internet media company, which set about developing more content for the site.

However, the aim of the site remains the same: "to act as a counterbalance to the huge amounts of positive spin the housing market receives in the main media and provide anyone involved in the market with up to date data and commentary."

The site's stance is summed up in its Twitter bio (@housepricecrash): "House prices are coming down. Yay for first time buyers! Boo for homeowners."

Basically contributors appear to be frustrated would-be first-time buyers who resent renting and are hoping prices will "crash" so they can cash in. Presumably if any of these people eventually buy a property they abandon the site and look for one that talks up the property market.

So, what happens on the discussion boards of 'House Price Crash'? I lurked and found out what the purveyors of property doom were talking about.

There's obvious delight in any loss of homeowners' equity. Strbear kicked off yesterday's "I've been worried we were wrong but..." thread with: "Like many I've been on this site for years and, in that time, I have come to wonder if I have it wrong and actually property will continue to be sold for much more than I think it can possibly be worth. But I am coming across more properties that, whilst still overvalued in my opinion, are starting to become more realistic - to me it's probably a 40-50% drop that needs to make it so. But whilst looking today, I saw this which is in a nice development in a part of "gentrified" West Yorkshire and it's up with a 60% fall over the 2007 last sale price. That's a cash buy! There is light and it will come to pass, glad I held on and hope to reassure a few others on here, keep the faith fellow bears!"

Meanwhile in response to an article in The Daily Telegraph about the London property bubble being about to burst, The Masked Tulip wrote: "It is a great article - excellent news indeed. London falling will be a huge bearish sentiment for prices."

The posts and subsequent replies to them are written with little empathy for the sellers who are likely to be selling at a loss or struggling to keep a roof over their heads.

One thread entitled "The crash is here in my area" includes a post by andybee33 describing how sellers were accepting a lot less than the asking prices in his area. It concludes with: "So, IMPO, the crash is really here - it just isn't being reflecting in asking prices yet. Only a matter of time though. Once these new 'low' sales complete, EAs and Surveyors will use them as valuation basis.

Happy days."

People losing their homes because they can't afford to repay the mortgage? Families trapped in properties no longer big enough for them because they're in negative equity? Homeowners paying higher mortgage rates when it comes to remortgaging because their loan-to-value has increased?

These are some of the themes running through 'House Price Crash', a site united by it's members desire to get that first foot on the property ladder, a struggle most know well I'm sure. And as one person's loss is another's gain here, I can't help but feel that commiseration should follow misfortune, rather than celebration. After all, don't' we all just want to own our own home?

It's obviously immoral and wrong to want affordable housing. Have some sympathy for the boomers and BTL'ers, please.

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People losing their homes because they can't afford to repay the mortgage? Families trapped in properties no longer big enough for them because they're in negative equity? Homeowners paying higher mortgage rates when it comes to remortgaging because their loan-to-value has increased?

Obviously the government must increase taxes and use them to set up special schemes to prevent the above from happening.

A special 'save our homes' tax that strategically targets renters would be the best solution.

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They generalised too much there. For the author of that trash. I own a 3 bed house in London. I still believe house prices are over inflated and am not on the bread line, in fact I have more wealth than most of your readers so jog on.

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In counterbalance to his one-dimensional portrayal of us, I will stick my hand up as a middle aged homeowner (mortgage paid off) who would dearly love to move house.

You could say I'm just the sort of person people on here (like myself?) 'show no sympathy for.' OTOH, you could say that I'm someone who has actually thought about the economics, politics and social implications of the housing bubble and am cheering on it's end.

My understanding is that there are many on here who fall into this camp.

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F*** them. They had no empathy for anyone sensible who stayed out, braying about how much more they were worth every 6 months, and now they want us to pay for their mistakes. ******** to them.

Don't get worked up. As the OP on the frontpage said, they are VI's.

The only thing I thought when they tried to summarise housepricecrash as a group with no sympathy for lost souls was 'when do you stop feeling sorry for a drug addict and start to take action instead'. The endless property porn TV get rich quick schemes have themselves robbed generations of life, and this forum gives a voice to that opinion. Don't mention that one do they, nope too close to the truth for a VI. "Keep giving me my daily fix of 'my house has increased in value by £500 this week' party banter".

I'll never flip about my stance. Houses are to live in. Turning them into investments (aka unearned retirement funds) is as evil as speculating on food prices but that's another topic. You're robbing people of a basic requirement since the start of time, shelter.

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Basically contributors appear to be frustrated would-be first-time buyers who resent renting and are hoping prices will "crash" so they can cash in.

cash in ???

cash in ???

all we wanted was housing at the same cost as everyone else had, not at 300% inflated prices. (which they regard now as 'normal')

its them who are trying to cash in. you couldnt make up this mass denial. they are so selfish they are prepared to bankrupt the country.

did anyone see the newsnight clip about rural planning ?

pans to a leafy village green and a thached pub. what sickened me was the pub had the nerve to fly the union jack.

these festering selfish nimbies are opposed to anything that disturbs their views. they were all in their late 50s+

they didnt want wind farms. houses or anything. they just wanted their own little ignorant areas to continue on,

regardless of the cost to others. these people put the value of a blade of grass above that of a child in poverty.

they make me PUKE, and i would want that flag removing, as these are the people who are choking our country and the fabric of our society to death. they are the most un loyal and un british people you could imagine. what happened to fairness ? that was supposed to be a british trait. i could have ripped that flag down.

sickening, and to read the OPs post, endemic mindset of even the most lowly home owner.

if you have overpaid in 2004+, then it is YOU that hold the losses. hanging on like this is busting the country.

i hope they bulldoze the planning laws into the soil and begin a huge program of affordable houses.

if not, this country will NEVER recover from this and all those nimbys will soon be fleeing the country,

take that flag down.

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I think the author has been a bit selective about whom he's chosen to castigate and hasn't given a balanced view of the contributors to this site. I'm a Home Owner (emphasis for his benefit not yours) so I'm alright Jack, but most certainly the upcoming generations will not be without a real house price correction. He looking from a very narrow point of view and isn't considering the wider implications not only for the individual but the economy as whole.

My reason for having been here for the past 6 years even though I OWN MY OWN HOME is for my son, younger members of the family and their friends who haven't got a hope in hell of buying or saving for their own home with the high cost of rents and living expenses these days. If things continue the way they are their last gasp of hope will be that they will inherit from their parents but I expect TPTB will find a way of relieving them of that as well. I'll save my sympathy for them and all the other young people who may never get a look in rather than those feckless credit card junkies and greedy speculators who borrowed way beyond their means and should now be crying their tears of self pity as the banks foreclose, but hey, as usual, the market is fixed :angry:

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i hope they bulldoze the planning laws into the soil and begin a huge program of affordable houses.

take that flag down.

Forget it. The government have absolutely no intention of making "affordable housing" available. It's just another meaningless political soundbite. And exactly what would a state sponsored "affordable house" be, anyway. For "affordable", read "cheap and nasty in an undesirable area?" Forgive my skepticism.

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Forget it. The government have absolutely no intention of making "affordable housing" available. It's just another meaningless political soundbite. And exactly what would a state sponsored "affordable house" be, anyway. For "affordable", read "cheap and nasty in an undesirable area?" Forgive my skepticism.

i think the government have finally realised they have no choice and they are going to have to sacrifice them or face total collapse.

like facing down a public sector strike. they cant pay them anymore because they have already took far more than the goverment (taxpayer) ever had. its over for the nimbies. they are going to be taken to greenbelt building kicking and screaming, but they are going. or the country collapses.

the government now know this i feel. they are trying to pussy foot them, and the nimbies wont even go with that, so i think within the next 3-6 months, the government will simply roll over them as they are the most unloyal, selfish people in the country and produce nothing but financial stagnation and collapse.

greece has a similar problem. they refuse to accept reality. so they go on strike. well go on strike. striking will not change things.